Palm Coast man killed in Palatka crash

Robert Laks, 33, of Palm Coast, was killed in a crash on State Road 100 in Palatka, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

JULIE MURPHYSTAFF WRITER

A 33-year-old Palm Coast man was killed in a crash on State Road 100 in Palatka, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Robert Laks was third in a line of vehicles traveling west on the roadway about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, a report states. A garbage truck driven by Willie Lane, 44, of Jacksonville, was at the front of the line and turned left in front of an eastbound rock-hauler that started the chain of events leading to the fatal crash. Mark Robbins, 59, of Palatka, was driving the rock-hauler, reported Trooper R. Conover. He swerved to avoid hitting the garbage truck, sideswiped a Chrysler driven by James Chapman, 57, who was driving behind the garbage truck. Chapman's car spun out on the north shoulder and Robbins' tractor-trailer plowed into Laks' Ford pickup, "driving it into the woods," Conover reported. Laks, who was wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene, the report states. The crash remains under investigation. Toxicology reports and charges are pending.